PRECIOUS-Gold retreats 1% as dollar, yields gain

* Downside in gold could be short-lived- analyst
* Swiss gold March exports at 10-month high on shipments to
India
* GRAPHIC-Palladium shoots to new records (Recasts, adds comments, updates prices)
By Eileen Soreng
April 22 (Reuters) - Gold slipped 1% on Thursday, retreating
from a two-month high, as an uptick in the dollar and U.S.
Treasury yields hurt the metal's appeal, while palladium
lingered near an all-time high.
Spot gold XAU= was 0.7% lower at $1,780.36 per ounce by
12:54 p.m. EDT (1654 GMT), after hitting its highest since Feb.
25 at $1,797.67. U.S. gold futures GCv1 dipped 0.7% to
$1,780.90.
"$1,800 was a bit of a psychological resistance, so we've
come back with tests... The dollar and the 10-year (yields) are
both a little bit higher and that's pressuring gold as well,"
said ED&F Man Capital Markets analyst Edward Meir.
The dollar .DXY was up 0.1% versus a basket of other major
currencies, with the 10-year yield rising as far as 1.587%.
US/ USD/
Gold has dropped 6% so far this year, mostly pressured by
rising yields.
The downside in gold is likely to be short lived amid
central bank buying and increasing demand for physical gold from
China and India, said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at
RJO Futures.
Switzerland in March recorded its biggest monthly gold
exports in ten months as shipments to India jumped. But clouding that outlook was a record COVID-19 surge in the
country. Also dimming bullion's appeal was data showing a drop in
claims for unemployment benefits last week, strengthening
expectations for another month of job growth in April.

Meanwhile, palladium eased off a record high of $2,891.50
per ounce and was last down 1.7% at $2,827.20.
"If you are long palladium and platinum right now, it's the
perfect storm for price increases, because there's a very tight
supply and the demand is increasing, especially from the auto
sector," said Kevin Rich, Global Gold Market Advisor for The
Perth Mint.
Many analysts expect a further run towards $3,000.
Silver XAG= slipped 1.6% to $26.14 per ounce and platinum
XPT= fell 0.7% to $1,205.89.